Unemployment in the eight-county metropolitan statistical area jumped in July to 7.1 percent, a record high since state work force analysts started a new series of employment calculations in 2000.

The job count in the area, meanwhile, shrank by 8,100 from June to July, primarily because educators left schools for the summer. For the 12 months ending in July, the labor market declined by 6,400 jobs, mostly in manufacturing and professional and businesss services.

But that 0.8 percent annual decline was among the best performances in the state. Only Austin had a smaller decline among the state’s largest cities. Austin’s labor market fell by 0.2 percent from July to July.

So while it looks bad in San Antonio, as economists regularly remind us, other cities are in worse shape.